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June 5, 2009

A drunken director whose career is fading helps a waitress become a Hollywood star.

The film’s original title was The Truth About Hollywood. Adela Rogers St. Johns loosely based her plot on the experiences of actress Colleen Moore and her husband, alcoholic producer John McCormick, and the life and death of director Tom Forman, who committed suicide following a nervous breakdown.

Adela Rogers St. Johns and Jane Murfin were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story but lost to Frances Marion for The Champ.

June 4, 2006

Luke is sent to a prison camp, where he gets a reputation as a hard man. The head of the gang hates him, and tries to break him by beating him up. It doesn’t work, and he gains respect. His mother dies, and he escapes, but is caught, escapes again, and is caught again.

Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson were nominated for the 1968 Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. They didn’t win, tho George Kennedy did win for best supporting actor.

April 5, 2006

Needless to say, this 1940 movie is based on the novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson known also for writing scripts such as The Dirty Dozen and The Three Faces Of Eve.

Summary: Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncles farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life… Hopefully. Based on the John Steinbeck novel.